Mississippi College students will wear their dancing shoes at a November 16 marathon to raise thousands of dollars for the Blair E. Batson Hospital.

The goal is to generate $15,000. The Jackson hospital opened about 20 years ago with pediatric intensive care facilities, units to care for ill newborns and treat other sick children.

The second annual dance marathon on the Clinton campus should mirror the success of last year’s fun activities. MC students danced for six hours at the A.E. Wood Coliseum at the first marathon to assist the hospital in December 2016. The event attracted a live DJ and Miss Mississippi Laura Lee Lewis. Children’s Miracle Network Hospital Champion Jordan Morgan, a Clinton boy born with cerebral palsy, joined the dancers.

MC seniors Sam Stevens and Mikayla Carruth are directing this year’s activities at Anderson Hall, from 6 p.m. through midnight this Thursday evening. Students are promoting the event with posters around the school and spreading the word on social media.

Supporting a hospital admitting about 9,000 children each year is a wonderful cause they believe in, MC students say. Each year, about 80,000 children are treated in the hospital’s clinics and emergency rooms.

Twenty-eight freshmen and eight upperclassmen mentors in the 2017 Freshmen Leadership Initiative Program are working on details to make the university’s newest marathon a hit.

During the Fall, MC students met with families of the University of Mississippi Medical Center’s Blair E. Batson Children’s Hospital.

The 250-bed hospital was named for Dr. Blair Batson, the first chairman of pediatrics at UMMC from 1955 through 1989.

The fund drive doesn’t really end on the dance floor. Donations will be received through December 1, said Becca Benson, associate director of student engagement.

As an MC junior, Sam Stevens was thrilled to be part of last year’s marathon. He’s delighted to return to help this year. “I have seen the things the Blair E. Batson Hospital has done for the community,” says the Ridgeland resident.

The University of Mississippi became the first school in the state to launch a Dance Marathon to benefit the children’s hospital. MC and the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg joined the cause last year.

Blair Batson Hospital provides care to children in over 30 specialty areas.